Method of expressing oil



Dec. 12, 1950 F. w. WEIGEL METHOD OF EXPRESSING OIL.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed April 18, 1941 TdE Patented Dec. 12, 1950 UNITED 2,533,858 lCE METHOD OF ExrRnS-sws 91.

Frederick W; Weigel; Fairview Yillage Ohio, as-

signor, by mesne assignments, toFTheV. D. Anderson .Qompany, (llevelandgfihio, a corner.

ration (ii-ohm.

Qcnt nua i n hn r Seri l. Nit. t3it29h p il l8-," T s ap lication m e 1943, Serial No. 509.037

invention relates to. the recovery or :oil from oil bearing.proteinaceousmaterial, partial. larly of vegetable origin, suchasoilbearing-seegis, nuts or the like. While moreparticularly applicable to the treatment. of many kinds ;of' oil bearing proteinaceous materials, such .asvarious nuts, seeds and the like, it. will bemore particularly described with reference to flaxseed and soy. beans. Under some circumstances the invention also may be applicable for use in the removal of: oil from proteinaceous materials of animal ori.-. glll.

-More particularly the invention aims to pro..-. vide animproved process which maybe per formed in a single unitincluding all the necessaryapparatus and devices 'for recovering-oil from the material being worked uponin such manner that said material is. introduced into the appae ratusasya. more or less continuous stream. and is caused tofiow throughit. under motion'atall times, while itis subjected in order to those steps which. first convert. the. proteinaceous material into suitable and appropriate condition ror-exe Dress-ion 0.1;":011 therefrom. followed by the actual oil expressingzstep so .as'to. discharge from-the apparatus the relatively dry hard cake on the one hand and, a; high qualityoil'ohmaximurn quantity n the other hand. Thusby this. process. e various steps to which the; material. is subjected a conducted not adiscont nuouslvin senarate mach nes or devices. but c0ntinuc.usly-:.and in orde W t out t me or space..eapsb tweeuth m. withthe result notonly- (if-conservingheatond o ing ol ng: and d lay llChfiSiIhiEhh impair th q a ty of the p oduct, but. alsoretainins unharmed the maxim m quantity othigh grade oil.

A ther Qbi to provide an mer red m od o o l re ove yi om prot lnaceous-n as e w ich consists; in perf rm n the. heatin r cooking op rat n upon ala gemass-of rawmaeterial. many mes re ter than the quantity be: s. expressed at'any'momentthe operation bein m te a a t mperatur cl finitelyaandmm teriallybelowthe. optimum temperature forex: Pr ssing. ut arried ut: oran extended: pe iod of time, mu h on er th n-h re ofore e ployed. andthen rapidly a d mmediately tienins t e raw. ma rial. in small q fillfiltlfifis rise in p a u e o h optimum. teinherat re for: pre iollowed y immed ate :ccrit nuous expression inv a; press. a curin maxim m o l outpu ;wi hcutimpairment of. q ali y- --Further objects; of the invention are-in part obvious and in part wi11.-apnear.-.more in detail hereinafter.

Thisapplication is a: continuation of my prior applica on for Method1.and..A paratus for 3895207, now abandoned, towhich reference may be had. it. desirable.. or necessary.

In the/drawings. which represent, one silitablev embodime tioi'the. inventiomFig. 1 is. asideele; vation of the entire apparatus, portions, being broken out .andin section to. expose interiorparts; Fig. 2-:is anendriewifrom the left. in Fig. 1;- .F ,S.- 3,4 and 5 aredetail views. ill stratingv one-oi the variableteeders, Figs. -3.and-.-4. beingviews alon similarly numberedlinesof Fig. 2, and Fig. the-.-

ing-a view along-theline 5:5. of Rig. 4; while Fig. -6 is-a iragmentaL-sectional view taken along the l-ine'fi fi o1- Eig. 1.

-Heretofore, :in the extractionor recovery Of" oil from .proteinaceous materials,..either= of vege:v table or .animal :origin, .such, .for example, as cottonseed, fiaxseed, copra, soy beans or thelike; ithas been-customary firsttoheat. or cook-the material in relatively finely divided. form,- eitheraswholeseedswhen.they are. small, or suitablycornminutedwhen of lareersize, ina -.suitabl& apparatusheated' by steamer otherwise and in which, in the presence. of moisture, the material not only is vsterilized, butltheenz mes, starches, and other ingredients are or may bev decomposed or modified in such manner as to. disrupt. theoil bearing. cells and release the oil, but...without harmful effect upon it. The heating or cooking process may beconductedzeither by a batch pros-i. ess, or may. be more-unless. continuous. Butrin either event, the product of the heating imparratus, as, it issuestherefrom, is conducted or conveyed, usually over-some. distance to otherapparatus, such as adrierorconditioner. Dure. ing its travel thereto heat. isslost. Because. the quantity of material in. the vesseLis relatively small and to counteract-the contemplateddheat loss, thecooking. temperature has. always been relatively high, and usually appreciablyabove the optimum temperature for expressing, entail ing. ultimate. loss in quantity. andouality of the oil product. In the drier,.moisture is permitted or caused to escape and upon-discharge from the drier the material is-again conducted orconveyed, again overan appreciable distance, toa conditioner or .to.a-suitable..oi1 expelling. press. Ineither case the transfer again requires and is at the expense of reductionof-temperature and loss of heat,.with further. delay entailing addi-: tional deterioration of the .product.

According to; the. present. invention I subject the material from. whichoilis tobeextracted, in a large massLto a heating or cooking operation in the closed; chamber .of. a. vessel. vented .to -atmosphere if necessary for escape .ofmoisture. The vessel is so arrangedas to permit the operation toebe carried-put. at a temperature. and for a period-oftime and under conditions con-.- ducive to the'most eificient results, often involvpressing: Q l, ri ed April. 18. .1941, ;eria1. Nc.oc ins expu sion ofsomeof themoisturein the ma;-

terial in the form of water vapor, but usually with thorough cooking over a long period of time so as to fully expand the oil cells and free the oil for extraction.

Generally speaking, proteinaceous materials of the kind here involved, such as seeds and nuts, are variously subjected, according to their kind, to one of three or more separate and distinct modes of treatment, as follows:

The first group of materials requires cooking under very moist conditions, followed by drying to reduce the moisture content to an optimum value, say 3%. Accordingly, the heating or cooking vessel is usually vented to atmosphere through a relatively small vent designed to prevent material loss of moisture from the cooking vessel. Most of the moisture is taken out or permitted to escape later as the material passes through the conditioner. However, the cooking operation is best performed at a temperature below theoptimum final temperature for pressing, to avoid harming the oil by too harsh treatment. These materials, accordingly, are subjected to a cooking process for an extended period of time, say 45 to 60 minutes, at a maximum temperature of about 225" F. at the discharge outlet. In the conditioner escape of moisture is permitted at a controlled rate, and the temperature is permitted to rise, so that in a period of from 7 to minutes, its moisture content has been reducedto 3% when it reaches the optimum final pressing temperature of 235 F.

The materials treated according to this first plan include, for example, cottonseed, whole or decorticated, fiaxseed, and. rape seed. However, with fiaxseed and rape seed the maximum cooking temperature is usually 200 F. and the optimum final pressing temperature 210 F.

The second group of materials does not require the same kind of cooking, in the ordinary sense of the word, as does cottonseed. Here the cooking process, more accurately described, is more on the order of drying, mainly for the purpose of reducing the moisture content. But it must be conducted carefully, without damage to the material. Accordingly, in the heating or cooking vessel, the material is subjected to a gradualincrease in temperature up to a maximum definitely and materially below the optimum pressing temperature and for a time which varies with the initial moisture content of the material. For example,

.(a) Soya beans are treated to reduce the moisture content to about 3%. They are heated in the cooker for from to 60 minutes to a maximum temperature of 260 F. In the conditioner the temperature is permitted to rise to 270 the optimum temperature for pressing.

(b) Decorticated peanuts are similarly dried in the cooker to reduce the moisture content to approximately 2.5%. They are thus treated for from 20 to 60 minutes at a maximum temperature of 225 F., and in the conditioner the temperature is permitted to reach the, optimum pressing temperature of 235 F.

(c) Copra,. palm kernels, babassu nuts, tucum nuts, Brazil nuts, coquita nuts and muru-muru nuts are dried to a moisture content of about 2%, the heating process continuing for from 20 to 60 minutes at a maximum temperature varying from 190 to 200 F. In the conditioner, the temperature is permitted to rise to the optimum pressing temperature of from 215 to 220 F.

The third group of materials includes, for example, tung nuts, castor beans, and sesame seed.

These materials are treated in the heating vessel under closed conditions (air excluded) to reduce the moisture content, the time of treatment varying with the initial moisture content.

Tung nuts are heated for from 20 to 60 minutes up to a, maximum of 200 F. to reduce the moisture content to 3%, and in the conditioner the temperature is permitted to rise to 210 F., the optimum final pressing temperature.

Castor beans are dried for from 20 to 60 minutes at a temperature of 180 F. to permit the moisture content to be reduced to 4% and in the conditioner the temperature i permitted to rise to F.

Sesame seed are heated for from 20 to 60 minutes at 200 F. to reduce the moisture content to 3%, and in the conditioner the temperature is permitted to rise to 210.

The cooking vessel is of sufiicient size to hold a large quantity of material in a single mass which is kept thoroughly mixed so that it is fairly homogeneous. The temperature and moisture of this single large mass are readily controlled, the former being definitely below the optimum expressing temperature, and the latter above its final value. Inflow and outflow of material are also controlled, and are at a rate, in pounds per minute, comparable to the rate of later flow of material through the press, but small as compared with cooker capacity.

Promptly upon conclusion of the heating or cooking operation and without loss of either time or temperature, and in a relatively short time, the product of the first heating operation is subjected to a conditioning step for a suitable period of time during which moisture may be expelled to reduce the moisture content and to stabilize it at the optimum value for the particular material at the time of expression. At the same time, the temperature is carefully controlled so that the product leaving the conditioner is at the optimum temperature for expressing the oil. This, of course, involves a gradual rise in temperature as the material passes through the conditioner. But the conditioner is of small capacity as compared with the cooker so that the time of heating at the increased temperature is relatively short. The material is withdrawn from or is permitted to leave the heating or cooking vessel continuously only in small amounts and is immediately ,passed through the conditioning vessel keeping it thoroughly mixed. It results from this conditioning treatment that the smaller amounts of material drawn from the mass in the cooking vessel are made more completely homogeneous and are given a final treatment closely controlled as to moisture and temperature so that optimum conditions of temperature and moisture content exist at the moment the product leaves the conditioning vessel and passes into the press. In other words, in this conditioner the material i subjected, immediately after cooking, to suit able treatment, in the minimum time, which modifies its condition to that determined to'be most desirable from the standpoint of both tem perature and moisture content.

Thereupon, again promptly and without delay, the material is introduced into a press of suitable form, preferably a continuous press, as will appear. In said press, without interruption of its movement and without loss of temperature, the material i subjected to increasing pressure to expel the oil therefrom so that it issues from the press in the form of thin hard-fraztioner may also be provided with one or more vents each provided with a door 3| which has an operating mechanism 32 as shown in Fig. 6. If desired, as shown in Fig. 1 toward the left end of vessel 5, a vent stack 22 may lead from the conditioner vessel to atmosphere. This vent may be controlled by butterfly damper 5|. By opening either or both of said vents steam, vapors and gases may be permitted to escape at a controlled rate, as will be readily apparent.

As a general rule each of the variable feeder mechanisms is provided with a star wheel, marked generally 33. This star wheel rotates on an axis transverse to that of the worm shaft, with one side of the star wheel extending into the feeding chamber, so that the lobes thereof engage or intermesh with the worm flight, to be driven thereby. The star wheel therefore serves as an abutment to prevent rotation of the material with the worm, While traveling through the feeder mechanism, compelling it to move along therein.

Any suitable driving mechanism may be employed for the various instrumentalities described. As illustrated, the horizontal main press 2 is operated by an electric motor 34 through speed reducing gearing marked generally 35. Said motor also drives a sprocket 36 connected by a chain 31 to a sprocket 38 which, through gearing enclosed within the casing 39, operates the shaft of the vertical feeding press 3. The shaft ll of the agitator projects from one end of the vessel and is provided with a sprocket 40 connected by a driving chain 4| to a sprocket on the shaftol motor 42. Another sprocket 43 on shaft I1 is connected by a chain 44 to a sprocket 45 on a back shaft 46 arranged to drive the variable operating mechanism 41 for the variable feeder 25 (see Fig. 2). At the other end of the vessel shaft H is provided with a sprocket 48 over which travels the driving chain l2 for the variable driving mechanism of the variable feeder 8.

The shaft 29 of the agitator for the conditioner 5 may be provided with a sprocket 49 connected by a chain 50 to a sprocket on the shaft of motor 42.

With this arrangement the oil bearing proteinaceous materials described may be subjected to various treatments, each material according to its kind and the results desired. Whatever is the material or its treatment, it is of course obvious that the material fed, both through the cooker and through the conditioner, per unit of time, must be that quantity of material which the press I can properly treat in the same unit oftime. But, by varying the speed of rotation of the agitator shaft ll of the cooker, and the shaft 29 of the conditioner, as by adjusting the size of their respective driving sprockets, the rate of agitation of the material in either or both of the cooker and conditioner may be varied. Again, the quantity of material with which the cooker or the conditioner is loaded at any instant may be varied. For example, referring to vessel 6, by holding the variable feeder 25 at its outlet stationary, or by reducing its speed, while permitting the variable feeder 8 at its inlet to operate, the quantity of material within the vessel may be built up or increased to any desired degree. It may be one-tenth full, one-third, onehalf or even up to two-thirds full or more. Obviously, by operating the two variable feeders 8, 25 at the same speed, the quantity of material within the cooker is maintained substantially uniform, although while the apparatus is operating the material within the cooker is gradually progressing from its inlet end to its outlet end, where it is delivered to the conditioner.

The total capacity of a heating or cooking vessel 3 feet in diameter and 12 feet long, in pounds, depends of course upon the density of the particular material being worked upon, which may weigh from 20 to 40 pounds per cubic foot, or thereabouts. A fair load of average material, with the cooker full may weigh 1500 pounds or more, many times the weight of the material actually in the press at any moment, which may run, for example, from 20 to 30 pounds.

Within the cooker the material being treated is subjected to the effect of the heat of the steam within'its jacket. That heat produces a progressive action, with the conversion of moisture into water vapor or steam and with the usual eifects, at the temperature employed, upon all the various substances of which the oil bearing proteinaceous material is composed, all tending to expand or open up the oil containing cells and to free the oil therefrom. Steam, water vapor and gases arise and are or may be vented through the outlets 2| if necessary. The operation proceeds slowly, in accordance with the adjustment of the parts, and it may take from 30 to minutes for the material to pass clear through the cooker.

For example, in a continuous press of the kind here employed, the material passes through the press in one or two minutes or a little more. Assuming'press capacity at 30 pounds, and a pressing time of two minutes, and neglecting loss of moisture, this means that material must be fed to the press, and must also be fed to and leave the cooker and conditioner roughly at the rate of 15 pounds per minute. If the charge in the cooker weighs 1500 pounds, on the average it will take minutes for any given material to pass through the cooker. The time through the conditioner is considerably less because its agitator shaft turns rapidly and no attempt is made to hold the material there. It flows freely to the press.

At the outlet end of the cooker the material is released or permitted to leave, at a controlled rate, by the variable feeder 25 by which it is conveyed to and delivered into the conditioner 5,

. but without material loss of heat and without delay, so that the material undergoing treatment is afforded no opportunity for deterioration.- -In the conditioner the material is treated for a period of time shorter than its time period in the cooker, because its agitator shaft rotates rapidly and outflow is not impeded. Here the material is tempered as to its condition, progressing along toward the far end of the conditioner for whatever period of time may be suitable. In the conditioner such further emission and venting of steam vapors and gases is permitted as may be desirable. Thus the material, when it reaches the outlet end of the conditioner is in prime condition for the expressing or oil expelling operation. It is promptly delivered into the press, at the upper end of the vertical feed press thereof, and it travels down through the feed press and then through the main press, with progressive and continuous expulsion of oil, while traveling through the press, so that at the far end of the press a substantially oil-free cake is discharged.

Means is provided for carefully controlling the temperature in the vessel 6. The steam supply at 52., Fig. 1, under the control of a shut-off valve masses throu h ca pressure re ulator 54 to "a -eontrcl-walve .55.; "ilhiswalve is of :a well :known atgpe; z-themositionzo'f zwhich;is--;controlled bymeans -offadiaphragm in-1a chamber 56 which communicates :by conduit 51 'with a temperature :sensitive-Sylphon ibellows, not 'shown, in 'the cooker 6. As will be readily understood, .anxincrease :of temperature :in the cooker :6 beyond a ipredeterminedpointsselected*will cause pressure :in 'conduit :51 to :close valve 55, thus cutting off the rsteam entering jacket 14 through conduit 59,. Upon cooling of the --Sy1phon bellows, steam is again-admitted to the jacket :and thus the temperature'of cooker fiais controlled-within fairly marrow limits. The condensateiromjacket I 3 .isdrained-atthe point Mar I In asimi'larmannermeans :is provided for'controlling- :the "temperature :in theconditioner 5. Parts :similar to those just described carry nut similarL-functions and have been given the same reference icharacters with a prime 'sumx; The *drain' tromthe conditioner jacket 21 is at the point 12 1a. Thus the zteznperature in the condi- $10118! risaalsmclosely-c0ntrolled=and in fact may he {given afiner regulation-than :that possible in ctheicooker-li because of the smaller amount of materialand the smaller chamber involved. To eet the best :results eI prefer to hold the tempera- =ture2at the discharge endof theconditioner :with- ;in -2':or 3 F.'-of the-predetermined point, to wit the optimum temperature-for expressing of the vmaterial :being treated.

It should be understood that reach "of the various proteinaceous materials commonly treated according to -this'process :ha's its ownmo're or Fless definite and well known optimum temperature atwhich the expressing eperationshould 'be conducted. who optimum temperature here refered -to takes into consideration only iquaritity quality of the product, :neg-lecting cost and :sellrng prices fOI=.0l1, (or other eccnomic factors, :siuchas labor, transportation, cost :of equipment, operating costs, etc. Expression at temperatures ;above-or below this -optimum temperature zenta-ils either-impairment .of the quality or reduction in the quantity-=01 the expressed :oil. These cptimum temperatures vary for different materials; Characteristic optimum temperatures for certain materials have :been mentioned above.

Likewise,- the matter :of-optimum moisture content, 'at the time-of expression, is well understood fin-the art. .It varies ior difierent material's, and vial-lilies for some materials are also given above. Optimum moisture content also" has reference hereon-1y to auantity and quality :of eilzproduct,

possibly the most-important function of the conditioner is to' stabilize the moisture i'content'rat the "ioptimum value for expressing, usually 'by relmov'ing moisture, as will be readily understood.

7 Accordingly, in the operation -of my process and apparatus, it must be assumed lthat, =for "the particular material being worked upon, the optimum moisture contentand temperature at the time of expression are known, and the apparatus is set up or adjustedaccordingly. "Thatfis to say, the vents permitting escape of moisture from the heater or cooker a'nd'from the conditioner are "adjusted to permit escape of moisture at a controlled rate, :so that when the material passes from the conditioner to the press its moisture (content is at the optimum value.- Likewise. the heat'applied-tothe cooker andto the conditioner, such as steam heat, is controlled usuallyrthermostatically, as described, to produce and maintain independently, in each of the cooker and condittionen'temperatures appropriate to the material.

--ri-se to'the :said optimum temperature or thereabouts. The operator .usually ta'kes into consideration *variations intemperature :suchas might 'occur in the operation 'of the EDI'ESS'YEI'U ihigh pres sure with the-material suhjectedetogreatwtriction, and with the press :cooled -loy=a coulingzfiuid-as .is

uua1 I,

- The operation 'of .my improved process when treating fiaxseed is as *followsrWith the feeder 25 at rest, the-feeder 8 is operatedato'feedrthe flax- .seed .into the cooker i6 "until Fit" contains approximately one thousandypounds or more. Theishaft vtlzoperates at approximatelyfiO-t-RrP. and the flaxseed is retained inthe \cooker -6 :for approximately-an :hou-r at a maximum --temperature of about 200 .-F. A small amount of moisture is :allowed'ito escape through the vents 24; When the-desired amount of material has been accumulated iin the cooken'o the feeder 25 Lisa-started to remove a continuous "small stream :of 4 material irom the cooker at about-the-same rate as the material enters ithrough the -;feeder :8. "This smaller quantity of material-passes directly into the eonditioner vesselfizwhose-mixer shaftis 'travcling at approximately 80 :R. :P. sand thismaterial is held at :a maximum temperature of approximatelyw2l0 at' the outlet vend' thereof. The material is in the-conditioner vessel between Hand 15 minutes; Entering theconditionerzwith a moisture of 6 m fl sper cent, =sufiicient moisture is permitted to escape from the conditioner "ves- -sel-:so that :when ithe material-passes-to the-feeder chute 4 the :moisture content :is stabilized at 8 or4 percent. it-results from this .-treatment-that a greater quantity of high grade 'oil is secured than -.by otherknown processes; -.-I believe this-to be due to the cooking-\ofthe.materialfor awcornparatively long time in a comparatively .la-rge mass at a temperature :below the optimum temperature .for the material, combined with the transfer of this material quicklyuand without appreciable loss of temperature to the condi- .tioner whereiarsmaller :masseofimaterial is :quickly rendered completely :homogeneous and its temiperatureand moisture are :gi-vena-final stabilizing control. .The .material :then ,passes directlyand without .loss of temperature to the expellerqpress where the temperature :is controlled .in .a known manner, preferably 1 by .passingcooling on over the barrelsof the presses .2=.and 3 iso as to dispel any excess temperature generated by the friction and compression. I

The process issimilar forlsoy beans except that eat temperature .of. approximately 260 vis'imaintained in the cooker .and the-optimum temperature of approximately 270 F. iamaintained at the discharge end of the conditioner. .A .recordof these temperatures is .made .on the recorder 58 Whichis connected to suitable thermometer-bulbs 21 may be opened slightly, just sufficient to expel the water vapor generated in the cooker without permitting access of air to the interior of the cooker. The short transfer conveyor 25 is also substantially air-tight and is of such short length that no cooling of the material takes place therein which might otherwise cause air to be sucked into the conveyor. The conditioner is operated in a substantially sealed condition with the door 3| closed and with the butterfly damper 5| open only sufliciently to allow the escape of the desired amount of water vapor from the conditioner without access of air to the interior of the conditioner. A very high production of good quality tung oil is achieved by this process.

One advantage of my new process in treating fiaxseed or linseed is that the mucilaginous material of the hull is preserved in the linseed meal or cake even though the material is passed through a screw-type press. To my knowledge this has heretofore been regarded as impossible and the linseed meal obtained from a screw press has been granular as compared with the more plastic cake which was produced by the hydraulic type of press. I believe that this improved cake combined with a very high quality and high yield of linseed oil is the result of the slow steeping process at a comparatively low temperature in the large mass of material in the cooker 6 with little removal of moisture, combined with the final removal of moisture in the conditioner and the very close control of the temperature of the product at the discharge end of the conditioner.

My process has been used successfully on decorticated peanuts, whole cottonseed, babassu nuts, tung nuts, soy beans, flaxseed and palm kernels and other materials. In fact one of the advantages of the process is that it is applicable to a wide range of products merely by varying the temperatures used and the length of time and quantity of material in the cooker 6, so that the process and apparatus are of more or less universal application to all materials.

What I claim is:

1. A process for treating oil bearing proteinaceous material of vegetable origin to express the liquid content therefrom, comprisin heating said material for a period of at least 30 minutes at a temperature at least 10 degrees lower than the predetermined optimum oil-expressing temperature for the particular material, immediately thereafter subjecting said material for approximately ten minutes to a conditioning treatment to reduce and stabilize the moisture content, at a temperature higher than the first heating temperature but not higher than said optimum oilexpressing temperature, and, at the conclusion of said conditioning treatment, without substantial loss of time or temperature, subjecting the material to continuous expressing action at said optimum temperature, whereby the oil is expressed therefrom.

2. A process for treating oil bearing proteinaceous material of vegetable origin to express the liquid content therefrom, comprising heating said material for a period of from 30 to 90 minutes at a temperature at least 10 degrees lower than the predetermined optimum oil-expressing temperature for the particular material, immediately thereafter subjecting said material for from 7 to minutes to a conditioning treatment to reduce and stabilize the moisture content, at a temperature higher than the first heating temp a.-

ture but not higher than said optimum oil-expressing temperature, and, at the conclusion of said conditioning treatment, without substantial loss of time or temperature, subjecting the material to continuous expressing action at said optimum temperature, whereby the oil is expressed therefrom.

3. A process for treating oil bearing proteinaceous material of vegetable origin to remove oil therefrom, comprising collecting a mass of the material which at any time is in quantity of the order of more than twenty-five times the quantity then undergoing expression, continuously supplying additional material to the mass at an inlet and continuously releasing it therefrom at an outlet at substantially the rate of expression, subjecting the material as it advances in the mass from the inlet to the outlet to a heating treatment with gradual rise of temperature to a maximum value definitely lower than the predetermined optimum oil-expressing temperature for the particular material, then, without substantial loss of temperature or time, subjecting the released material in smaller quantity to a conditioning treatment for a period of shorter duration than the first heating treatment, to reduce and stabilize its moisture content at the optimum value for expressing with a gradual temperature rise to said optimum temperature, and finally, again without substantial loss of time or temperature, subjecting the material to continuous expressing action under said optimum conditions of temperature and moisture content.

4. A process of the character described in claim 3 in which, during the first heating treatment, the temperature is permitted to rise toa maximum value which is approximately 10 F. below the optimum oil expressin temperature.

5. A process of the character described in claim 3, in which a mass of the material is collected which at any time is of the order of more than forty times the quantity then undergoing expression.

6. A process for treating oil-bearing protein-v aceous material of vegetable origin to express the liquid content therefrom, comprising heating said material for a period of at least 30 minutes at a temperature at least 10 degrees lower than the predetermined oil-expressing temperature for the particular material, immediately thereafter subjecting said material for approximately 10 minutes to a conditioning treatment to reduce and stabilize the moisture content, at a temperature higher than the first heating temperature but not higher than said predetermined oil-expressing temperature, and, at the conclusion of said conditioning treatment, without substantial loss of time or temperature, subjectin the material to continuous expressing action at said predetermined oil-expressing temperature whereby the oil is expressed therefrom.

FREDERICK W. WEIGEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 639,529 Cook Dec. 19, 1899 1,121,913 French Dec. 22, 1914 2,269,898 Anderson Jan. 13, 1942 

1. A PROCESS OF TREATING OIL BEARING PROTEINACEOUS MATERIAL FO VEGETABLE ORIGIN TO EXPRESS THE LIQUID CONTENT THEREFORM, COMPRISING HEATING SAID MATERIAL FOR A PERIOD OF AT LEAST 30 MINUTES AT A TEMPERATURE AT LEAST 10 DEGREES LOWER THAN THE PREDETERMINED OPTIMUM OIL-EXPRESSING TEMPERATURE FOR THE PARTICULAR MATERIAL, IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER SUBJECTING SAID MATERIAL FOR APPROXIMATELY TEN MINUTES TO A CONDITIONING TREATMENT TO REDUCE AND STABILIZE THE MOISTURE CONTENT, AT A TEMPERATURE HIGHER THAN THE FIRST HEATING TEMPERATURE BUT NOT HIGHER THAN SAID OPTIMUM OIL EXPRESSING TEMPERATURE, AND, AT THE CONCLUSION OF SAID CONDITIONING TREATMENT, WITHOUT SUBSTANTIAL LOSS OF TIME OR TEMPERATURE, SUBJECTING THE MATERIAL TO CONTINUOUS EXPRESSING ACTION AT SAID OPTIMUM TEMPERATURE, WHEREBY THE OIL IS EXPRESSED THEREFORM. 